Species Suta nigriceps (Günther, 1863)
Mitchell's Short-tailed Snake
- Hoplocephalus nigriceps Günther, A. 1863. Third account of new species of snakes in the collection of the British Museum. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 3 12: 348-365 [362].
Type data:
Holotype BMNH 1946.1.20.70, 'probably from Australia'. - Denisonia nigrostriata brevicauda Mitchell, F.J. 1951. The South Australian reptile fauna. Part 1. Ophidia. Records of the South Australian Museum (Adelaide) 9: 545-557 [550].
Type data:
Holotype SAMA R3137, Fowler's Bay, SA.
Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy
- Storr, G.M. 1981. The Denisonia gouldii species-group (Serpentes: Elapidae) in Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum 8: 501-515
Generic Combinations
- Parasuta nigriceps (Günther, 1863). —
Cogger, H.G. 2014. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia. Collingwood : CSIRO publishing 7th edition, pp. xxx+1033. [912] - Suta nigriceps (Günther, 1863). —
Maryan, B., Brennan, I.G., Hutchinson, M.N. & Geidans, L.S 2020. What’s under the hood? Phylogeny and taxonomy of the snake genera Parasuta Worrell and Suta Worrell (Squamata: Elapidae), with a description of a new species from the Pilbara, Western Australia. Zootaxa 4778(1): 1-47 [7] - Denisonia nigriceps (Günther, 1863). —
Storr, G.M. 1981. The Denisonia gouldii species-group (Serpentes: Elapidae) in Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum 8: 501-515 [502]
Introduction
Difficult to distinguish from S. dwyeri where the two species overlap and further work is required across the distributions of the two species to clarify their relationships, see Maryan et al. (2020) for details.
Distribution
States
New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia
Extra Distribution Information
Australian Endemic.
IBRA
NSW, SA, Vic, WA: Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Coolgardie (COO), Esperance Plains (ESP), Eyre Yorke Block (EYB), Flinders Lofty Block (FLB), Hampton (HAM), Jarrah Forest (JF), Kanmantoo (KAN), Mallee (MAL), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Riverina (RIV), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Warren (WAR)
Ecological Descriptors
Cryptozoic, nocturnal, predator, terrestrial.
Extra Ecological Information
Viviparous.
General References
Coventry, A.J. 1971. Identification of the black-headed snakes (Denisonia) within Victoria. Victorian Naturalist 88: 304-306 (general, in VIC, as Denisonia brevicauda)
Maryan, B., Brennan, I.G., Hutchinson, M.N. & Geidans, L.S 2020. What’s under the hood? Phylogeny and taxonomy of the snake genera Parasuta Worrell and Suta Worrell (Squamata: Elapidae), with a description of a new species from the Pilbara, Western Australia. Zootaxa 4778(1): 1-47 [35]
Storr, G.M. 1981. The Denisonia gouldii species-group (Serpentes: Elapidae) in Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum 8: 501-515 (taxonomy)
Common Name References
Clayton, M., Wombey, J.C., Mason, I.J., Chesser, R.T. & Wells, A. 2006. CSIRO List of Australian Vertebrates: A Reference with Conservation Status. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing iv 162 pp. [45] (Mitchell's Short-tailed Snake)
History of changes
Published | As part of group | Action Date | Action Type | Compiler(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
25-Feb-2022 | Hydrophiinae Fitzinger, 1843 | 10-Oct-2020 | MODIFIED | |
25-Feb-2022 | ELAPIDAE Boie, 1827 | 25-Sep-2020 | MOVED | |
07-Feb-2024 | 26-Aug-2013 | MODIFIED | ||
08-Mar-2011 | 08-Mar-2011 | MODIFIED | ||
12-Feb-2010 | (import) |